55 Drabbles
by iviscrit
Summary: 55 sentence drabbles tracing Baatar and Kuvira's relationship from her arrival in Zao Fu to the events immediately preceding "Kuvira's Gambit."


_Inspired by aromanticasamisato's piece, which can can be found on tumblr. Enjoy!_

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><p>01<p>

When Suyin brought her home he was disappointed, but she looked at him as if she had known him all her life, saying "You can call me Kuvira."

02

After she watched Su bend metal for the first time, she never built another castle from plain earth.

03

Kuvira rarely cried, but after hours of fruitless practice on an unchanged metal sphere, she threw the orb across the courtyard, her cheeks wet.

04

Baatar attended his mother's dance recitals out of a sense of obligation, but after Kuvira made her debut he never missed a single one.

05

She preferred to bend in the courtyard, saving her dancing for studio practices and moonlit nights.

06

She will never forget the first time the metal shifted under her command. Her fingers felt numb and she sank to her knees in the courtyard, disbelief and triumph rising in her chest.

07

His father's lab overlooked the training field, and he always asked for the window bench, claiming it was for the sunlight.

08

Kuvira remembers the first time Baatar brought his work out into the courtyard, and on a sudden whim, she took extra care to execute her dance routine flawlessly.

09

He doesn't remember when their friendship began to change in dynamic, but he remembers the first time he saw her talking to one of their contemporaries all too well, and the jealousy that followed.

10

Baatar had always been the most self-contained of the Beifong children, so his time spent with her did not escape her notice.

11

Under the cover of the domes, the rain beating a soft rhythm overhead, she gave him his first dance lesson.

12

The first time Zao Fu's security force dealt with a serious security breach, he paced the hall outside her room for what felt like hours. She laughed when she returned and saw him, but he was too relieved to take offense.

13

Kuvira took his constant presence at her recitals for granted, so she felt a twinge of indignation the first time she looked out into the audience and noticed his absence.

14

He loved watching her spar, her braid whipping down her back and her mouth in a fierce smile, but she never looked as alive as she did when she was dancing.

15

She never could understand him when he talked about physics and circuits and power systems, but she couldn't bring herself to dim the excitement in his eyes when he explained his latest project to her.

16

Baatar was alone in the lab the first time she visited, and as he showed her each project she saw a confidence and authority in his bearing that made her conceal a sudden bout of shyness.

17

When she fell during a complicated acrobatic routine, he was beside her before he'd realized he was standing. She rebuffed him but instantly regretted it when she saw his face, unable to tell him her embarrassment only stemmed from him seeing her fail.

18

He knew she was eager to help the kingdom after the queen's assassination, so when she returned from the meeting with his mother and Reiko, stony faced and unresponsive, he wanted nothing more than to help her achieve her goals.

19

Kuvira was used to Baatar's acquiescence, but her heart pounded from nervousness all the same, loudly enough for him to hear it, when she asked him to join her.

20

Her request caught him off guard, but before his mind could fully analyze the ramifications of what she was proposing his lips had told her yes, and the way she smiled at him made it impossible to take it back.

21

She could see he was sad to leave Zao Fu, and sadder still when Su threatened them with banishment, but selfishness kept her from telling him to listen to his mother.

22

The first time he refused to speak with her was the night of their departure, and she wondered for a horrible moment if she had overstepped her boundaries.

23

He will never forget the expression in her eyes when she asked him to trust her. Seeing what they've accomplished together, he knows he made the right decision.

24

Kuvira was not prone to emotional displays, but when her banner unfurled over the palace gates in Ba Sing Se, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck, exclaiming "We did it!" with pride in her voice.

25

She laughed the first time he asked her out, but quickly reassured him that she would love to when his face fell.

26

Baatar's memories of their first kiss are heavily romanticized, while Kuvira is thankful the awkward moment is a sweet secret for only the two of them.

27

When he watched her address the army for the first time, he knew she was special; he wondered why he hadn't realized it sooner.

28

Kuvira's focus was unshakeable once she committed to a task, but goosebumps still erupt over her skin and distraction steals over her mind under his touch.

29

His lab on the train had everything he could possibly need, but sometimes he found himself missing the large window overlooking the grounds where she practiced back in Zao Fu.

30

She grew more and more accustomed to unquestioning obedience from her subordinates, so she recoiled as if she had been slapped the first time Baatar told her she had gone too far.

31

It always came as a pleasant surprise to her when he grew insistent, fingers entangled in her hair pulling her head back. His hesitance was a relic of the past, and it made her all the more proud of the man he had become.

32

After some months of quietly developing their relationship, Baatar found the nerve to tell her he had loved her for years, and she still prizes her memory of his disbelieving expression when she told him "I know."

33

The day he planned to propose she was late in her return from an excursion, and he forced himself to not think of the worst possible scenario, of having just missed his chance.

34

Kuvira knew him well enough to expect him to be sick with worry upon her return, but seeing him go down on one knee came as a shock. It was the one proposal she had ever agreed to without a second thought.

35

She was the most skilled fighter he had ever seen, but he never could shake his sense of worry when she led the army into battle.

36

Baatar always had been better than her with logistics and infrastructure, but she couldn't stop him from accompanying her on military excursions after her first serious injury.

37

Her skin had always bruised easily, and more than once she found herself thankful for the uncomfortably high collar of her uniform.

38

Kuvira usually woke up before him, but he was grateful that she waited for him to open his eyes before saying her goodbyes.

39

As the the reunification process neared completion and Kuvira's reputation began to tarnish, he grew increasingly anxious about assassination attempts. She laughed at his concerns, dubbing them an excuse to spend more of their nights together, but she shared his bed all the same.

40

Baatar had every confidence in her abilities, but he worried that her pride would put her in harm's way more often than he cared to admit.

41

Varrick's inventions were better known in the industrial sector, but Kuvira's acknowledgement of his work was all the affirmation that mattered.

42

"Were you jealous?" she asked in the presidential suite, the old playful spark back in her eyes. "Could you see me as a queen?"

"You're the Great Uniter," he told her, pulling her to him by the waist. "To be a queen would be a downgrade."

43

She grew increasingly distant as they planned the conquest of Zao Fu, and he wondered, not for the first time, when the girl he loved had been replaced with a resolute world leader.

44

At times Kuvira felt as though she was losing herself as she won back the earth empire, but she relaxed in Baatar's arms, secure in the knowledge that he would not let her forget who she was.

45

They crossed the courtyard of his parents' home, and he found himself acutely missing the afternoons spent watching her dance. As if she could read his mind, she took off her armor and danced to music only she could hear, her face transformed by her old excitement, as if three years had never passed at all.

46

Before he had a chance to reply to his mother's claims of brainwashing, she said the words he knew to be true from the start: "I set him free."

47

Kuvira's support gained him the recognition he had always craved as an engineer and architect, and when his father and brother refused to acknowledge her rule he was quick to return the favor.

48

As their responsibilities grew it became more difficult to spend time together, but she always fairly pounced on him after a victory no matter how tired she was, making him appreciate each conquest on multiple levels.

49

Varrick's betrayal and subsequent demise didn't worry her. She had more confidence in Baatar's abilities than he did in himself.

50

Kuvira gazed at the ceiling of their tent, her hair free of its braid. "I never expected to be where we are today so soon. It's as though I was born to do this." She paused, rolling over and resting her hand on his chest. "It's as though we were born to do this together."

51

When the weapon failed a second time Baatar felt slighted, but his anger dissipated when Kuvira immediately turned on Zhu Li, as if she found the possibility of him making mistakes ridiculous.

52

Kuvira's excitement at the prospect of reclaiming republic city was palpable, but Baatar was just happy to see her smile again after their recent loss.

53

Baatar was used to telling her he loved her, and he knew better than to expect affirmation every time he said it. It made every time she said the words all the more meaningful.

54

"I never could have done this without you," she said, taking his outstretched hands. "Once this over, we can finally get married, and rule the empire together."

"I never would have done this for anyone else," he said, kissing her temple as she rested her head against his chest.

55

"Do you trust me?" she asked suddenly, the night before the scheduled attack on Republic City, just as she had three years ago.

"With my life," he said, arms tightening around her waist and his voice muffled by her hair.

She rolled over to face him, and he could see her intention in her eyes. "There's something I need you to do for me..."

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><p><strong>AN: I think Kuvira's gambit is Baatar. I'll repost after the episode if I'm proven wrong. Ugggghhhhh. **


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